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Omphalos Stone
The Omphalos Stone is the very stone that the Titan Rhea gave the Titan Cronos to swallow instead of the newly born Zeus. Greek Mythology After overthrowing his father Ouranos, Cronos remembered the prophecy Ouranos told him before he departed Earth, saying that because he overthrew him, one of his sons would do the same to him. Fearing the prophecy, Cronos swallowed every single one of Rhea's children whole; Hestia, Hades, Demeter, Poseidon, and Hera. When Rhea was about to give birth to Zeus, she couldn't stand the thought of losing another child. As Cronos approached the sacrifice altar, she took a stone, wrapped it in a cloth, and gave it to Cronos, who then swallowed it whole, thinking it was Zeus. Carried away to safety by an eagle, Zeus was raised by Gaia, and eventually bested his father, releasing all of his brothers and sisters. After the Titanomachy, the Omphalos was set up on display at Delphi, where it remains to this day. In the God of War Series God of War II When Kratos asks Gaia why she was helping him in God of War II, she told him the story of Cronos. Cronos was consumed by the same fear of being overthrown by his children as Ouranos was, so he decides to swallow his children as soon as they were born. Rhea, Cronos' wife, was forced to watch their children being eaten one by one, but when it was time for her last son, Zeus, to be eaten, she couldn't bear another such loss and commanded an eagle to take him to safety. The eagle brought the baby Zeus to Gaia. Then, she took a rock and wrapped in cloth. She placed it on the sacrificial altar and offered the stone to Cronos. He swallows the stone which would become known as the Omphalos Stone without realizing it wasn't the new baby. God of War III When it became clear to Hephaestus his daughter's life might be in danger, he decided upon killing Kratos using the Omphalos Stone. The smith god tried deceiving Kratos, telling him he could help him. He told the Spartan to travel to the Pit of Tartarus in order to find the Omphalos Stone, so that he could make a weapon for Kratos. Kratos had no need for another weapon, as he had enough already. Nevertheless, Hephaestus insisted the weapon he would create would be a special one. In Tartarus, Kratos encountered the Titan Cronos. Realizing the whereabouts of the Stone, he slew Cronos, taking the Omphalos Stone from his stomach. Infuriated, Kratos returned to Hephaestus, as he believed the Smith God had sent him to his death. Hephaestus pleaded innocence, claiming he knew the Ghost of Sparta could handle himself. The god took the stone and crafted the Nemesis Whip from it with his bare hands. After giving the new weapon to the Spartan, Hephaestus tried to electrify Kratos with his ring in a final attempt to kill him. Kratos shook off the effect, however, and killed Hephaestus by impaling him on his own anvil. Trivia *Although it was the very stone that saved Zeus' life in his early days, it later became one supporting factor in his death. *Both Hephaestus and Rhea used the stone in their schemes to save their respective child, with Rhea used it to replace Zeus as the sacrifice to Cronos and the smith god tried to fool Kratos about it in an attempt to kill him so he could not reach Pandora. Ironically the ones whose lives are meant to be saved by the plans where the stone took part in met their demise under the action of the same man: Kratos. *In mythology the stone was most likely spat out by Cronos due to the fact that Zeus had put sand on his water, Cronos drank the water and vomited up his children that he had previously swallowed. Despite this, the stone was still in Cronos' stomach in God of War III. It could be that the stone was lodged inside his stomach until Kratos ripped it open with the Blade of Olympus. *It is unknown if the stone had any genuine significance, or if it was nothing more than a common stone, due to the fact Hephaestus had simply used it as a ruse in an attempt to kill Kratos. *The green glow of the Nemesis Whip could be one of a few references to the Kronos Stone from Xena: Warrior Princess and Hercules: The Legendary Journeys. Gallery Konos 2.png|Cronos devouring a disguised stone Nemesiswhip-453x300.jpg|the Nemesis Whip, created from the Omphalos Stone Category:Items Category:God of War II Category:God of War III Category:God of War Series Category:God of War: Saga Collection Category:God of War Collection Category:Greek Mythology